Archive for October 4, 2022

Sam Sebastian Announced As VP and Canada Country Manager For Google Cloud

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 4, 2022 by itnerd

Today, Google has announced that they’re welcoming Sam Sebastian as VP and Canada Country Manager for Google Cloud:

Sam comes to us from Pelmorex Corp, one of the world’s largest weather data and multi-platform media companies, where he was President & CEO. Prior to Pelmorex, Sam spent nearly 12 years in leadership positions across Google, with his most recent role as Vice President and Country Manager of Google Canada. During this time, he helped build and scale Canada’s Google Ads business, empowering small and large businesses with new ways to reach their customers. Sam brings a deep understanding of the role technology can play in enabling businesses and organizations to innovate, evolve and grow, and is ideally suited to help lead our Canadian business forward.

It will be interesting to see what Mr. Sebastian does with Google Cloud in Canada going forward.

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Elon Musk Plans To Buy Twitter Again…. Until He Changes His Mind Again

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 4, 2022 by itnerd

Bloomberg has posted a story that states that Elon Musk who wanted to buy Twitter, then didn’t want to buy Twitter, which then led to this whole matter going to court, is once again wanting to buy Twitter:

Musk made the proposal in a letter to Twitter, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. Shares in Twitter climbed as much as 18% on the news, after trading was briefly halted. 

Musk had been trying for months to back out of his contract to acquire Twitter, signed in April. Shortly afterward, he began showing signs of buyer’s remorse, alleging that Twitter had misled him about the size of its user base and the prevalence of automated accounts known as bots.

Either Musk has figured out that he was going to lose in court and needs a graceful exit strategy from that, or his mind has changed like the seasons changed from summer to fall. It’s hard to say as this guy is really hard to read. Which means that this could flip flop again at any time. Thus fasten those seat belts as this is likely to be a bumpy ride.

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Study: Small Business Owners Share Top Mistakes Made When Starting Their Business

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 4, 2022 by itnerd

In acknowledgement of October’s Small Business Month, Intuit QuickBooks Canada conducted a survey among Canadian small business owners asking them to reflect on the start of their business and entrepreneurial journey so far. 

Established and Early Start (those who started a business over the last two years) entrepreneurs share insights around their top business concerns, advice needs and past mistakes to help guide the future generations of entrepreneurs. 

When asked about their biggest mistakes, nearly half (47%) of Early Start entrepreneurs report expecting to make a profit right away and Established Business respondents say trying to manage all parts of their business without outsourcing extra help (47%). Other top reported mistakes from Early Starts include:

  • Trying to manage everything alone without outsourcing help (40%)
  • Overspending due to lack of budget management tools (35%)
  • Not creating a business plan (30%)

Early Start business owners are also bracing for another wave of economic uncertainty; by learning from past mistakes and leaning on each other they can pave the way forward. Key findings from the study that reflect this mindset include: 

  • As Early Starts prepare for economic climate changes, 4 in 5 (79%) respondents anticipate the shifting economic climate will have an impact on their business and over 1 in 3 (34%) note their top concern is ensuring sufficient cash flow for the business to survive.
  • However, success isn’t always about the numbers with 3 in 4 Early Start respondents (74%) say that seeing customers use their products is very important to feeling successful and 3 in 5 (59%) value creating products or services that have a positive impact on the local community.
  • The top thing Early Start respondents wish they knew when they first started their businesses was to develop strategies that would help them better prepare for scaling their businesses (30%).
  • Learning among small business owner networks is valuable, with 95% of Early Start respondents saying they’ve learned something from fellow entrepreneurs. 
  • There’s an eagerness to learn more. Early Start respondents are most interested in receiving advice from other small business respondents when it comes to managing cash flow/payroll (27%).

We’re seeing that connecting with other entrepreneurs can be important when navigating the small business landscape and achieving success. More findings from the report, click here. 

Intuit QuickBooks recently launched a Small Business Hub to provide small business owners with the resources they need in order to succeed – check it out here.  

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Ferrari Appears To Have Been Pwned By Hackers As Internal Documents Were Leaked

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 4, 2022 by itnerd

As reported yesterday by Reuters, Ferrari has stated that some of their internal documents stolen and posted online, although the carmaker declared it had no evidence of a breach of its systems or a ransomware attack. The company also said there had been no disruption to its business and operations:

Earlier on Monday, Corriere della Sera newspaper, citing the Red Hot Cyber website, said Ferrari had been the victim of a cyber attack and seven gigabytes of documents, including internal ones, datasheets and repair handbooks, had been made public.

It added the alleged attack had been carried out by RansomEXX cyber gang.

Dr. Darren Williams, CEO and Founder, BlackFog had this to say:

     “Ferrari isn’t the first company to deny evidence of an attack, and they certainly won’t be the last, in fact many of the ‘cyberattacks’ we track aren’t revealed as ransomware until months later when a data breach has been confirmed. This incident in interesting in that the data has been posted online and the RansomEXX ransomware gang has claimed the attack. This attack emphasizes why companies need to focus on data exfiltration and data security in preventing attacks. Without data, cybercriminals cannot extort organizations, steal trade secrets or cause a data breach.”

I suspect that Ferrari’s tune may change if more evidence comes out that proves that they were pwned. Thus I would say that you should watch for further developments.

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Guest Post: Report – US Nuclear Security Body Failed To Implement Cybersecurity Measures

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 4, 2022 by itnerd

A recent document acquired by Atlas VPN reveals that a federal watchdog chastised the US agency in charge of maintaining and modernizing the country’s nuclear arsenal for lax cybersecurity procedures that jeopardize both IT and operational technology networks.

The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued an 81-page report on September 24th, 2022, outlining the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) cybersecurity failings. 

The NNSA is a separate agency within the Department of Energy (DOE) tasked with managing U.S. nuclear weapons at eight laboratory and production sites across the country.

According to the GAO, the NNSA and its contractors have not completely adopted six legally mandated cybersecurity standards, including basic risk management techniques and others.

NNSA failed to fully implement two out of six mandatory cybersecurity measures, including the development and maintenance of an organization-wide continuous monitoring strategy as well as the documentation of cybersecurity policies and plans. 

NNSA contractors responsible for the management and operational activities have to adhere to the same strict standards, but they failed on multiple fronts as well. Most notably, they were unable to implement the same organization-wide monitoring strategy that NNSA struggled with.

Out of seven M&O (management and operating) contractors, four implemented the monitoring policy substantially, one partially, and two barely improved the cybersecurity measure.

Unlike NNSA, all contractors were able to document and maintain cybersecurity policies and plans according to the outlined standards. 

However, four contractors assigned most, but not all, cybersecurity management roles and responsibilities. One M&O partner assigned only about half of the roles and duties.  

The last area where some M&O contractors struggled was the establishment and maintenance of a cybersecurity strategy for the organization. Two partners implemented the measure substantially, while one only partially, which is around 50%.

Why GAO did this study

NNSA and its site contractors incorporate information systems into nuclear weapons, automate production equipment, and develop warheads using computer modeling. 

To read the full article, head over to: https://atlasvpn.com/blog/report-us-nuclear-security-body-failed-to-implement-cybersecurity-measures

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It’s Official…. USB-C On Phones And Other Devices Will Now Be Mandatory In The EU

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 4, 2022 by itnerd

The EU has been teasing this for some time. But now it’s official. A press release issued by the European Parliament earlier today states the following:

By the end of 2024, all mobile phones, tablets and cameras sold in the EU will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port. From spring 2026, the obligation will extend to laptops. The new law, adopted by plenary on Tuesday with 602 votes in favour, 13 against and 8 abstentions, is part of a broader EU effort to reduce e-waste and to empower consumers to make more sustainable choices.

Under the new rules, consumers will no longer need a different charger every time they purchase a new device, as they will be able to use one single charger for a whole range of small and medium-sized portable electronic devices.

Regardless of their manufacturer, all new mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, handheld videogame consoles and portable speakers, e-readers, keyboards, mice, portable navigation systems, earbuds and laptops that are rechargeable via a wired cable, operating with a power delivery of up to 100 Watts, will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C port.

All devices that support fast charging will now have the same charging speed, allowing users to charge their devices at the same speed with any compatible charger.

I think it’s a safe bet that Tim Cook and company are not happy about this as they’ve resisted calls from their users to switch from Lightning to USB-C for years. Even though it’s pretty clear that Lightning is dead as well as dead slow. But I for one am very happy about this as it will finally force Apple to join everybody else in 2022 with a USB-C port on their phone. Though I can see a scenario where Apple may either try to fight this, or get rid of all ports on iPhones just to make a point. But I suspect that we’ll see soon enough. Starting with Apple trotting out one of their press minions to comment about how this stops innovation.

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Nuspire Recognized As A 2022 ‘Best And Brightest Companies To Work for’ In Denver And Detroit

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 4, 2022 by itnerd

 Nuspire, a leading managed security services provider (MSSP), announced today that it has been named one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in Denver and Detroit for 2022 by the National Association for Business Resources. 

Forty-two out of 300 organizations were recognized from Charlotte, Denver, Miami and Nashville this year by the National Association for Business Resources. This year is the second consecutive year Nuspire has been named a Best and Brightest winner in Denver and the tenth year as a Metro Detroit winner. 

The Best and Brightest Companies to Work for Program identifies and honors companies that display a commitment to excellence in communication, work-life balance, employee education, diversity, recognition, retention and more. Winners of the competition deliver exceptional human resource practices and have a remarkable commitment to their employees.

To view current job opportunities and become part of an exciting work environment at Nuspire, please visit the https://www.nuspire.com/careers or https://www.linkedin.com/company/nuspire/jobs. 

About the Best and Brightest Programs 

The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® competition identifies and honors organizations that display a commitment to excellence in operations and employee enrichment that lead to increased productivity and financial performance. This competition scores potential winners based on regional data of company performance and a set standard across the nation. 

This national program celebrates those companies that are making better business, creating richer lives and building a stronger community as a whole. There are numerous regional celebrations throughout the country, such as Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Houston, Milwaukee, San Diego, San Francisco, Miami, New York, Charlotte, Denver, Nashville, and Pacific Northwest. Nominations are now being accepted for all programs. Visit thebestandbrightest.com to nominate your organization. 

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